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. UNITED. STATES 'PATENT OFFICEo THOMAS H. GIRARD, OF BA'IAVIA, NEW YORK.

HARNESS-PAD FORMER OR MOLD.

Specification forming part of Leiters Patent No. 40,473, dated November 3, 1863.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l., THoMAs H. GIRARD, of the town of Batavia, in the county of Genesee and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Harness-Pad Former or Mold for the Formation and Molding the Pads for Harness of any Description; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in making the pads of harness and shaping them by means of a mold, by means of which they can bemade with more ease and elegance and in a better styie than in the ordinary way.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to dtscribe its construction and operat-ion.

The mold or former is made ot' brass, castiron, or other metal,and may be made of wood. It consists of two principal pieces hinged at one end, and is about eight inches long for all ordinary purposes, about three inches wide, and each piece is about one inch thick. The bed or lower piece has au oblong opening (marked letter C in the drawing) inthe center,

which opening is about one inch wide and siX inches long, in which the cushion of the pad is molded into shape to be stuffed when covered with hair or other material suitable for this purpose. About one-eighth of an inch from this central opening is a slotted opening surrounding the other, and extending through on the sides and about one-half the thickness of the bed-piece at each end. This opening is marked with the letter F. The top piece of the mold,'hinged at one end to the bedpiece, has an elevation upon the under side which ts into the central openingin thebedpiece, being more elevated at the end nothinged and diminishing toward the other end,whch forms the cavity in the leather in which the stufng is placed after the same is covered. The leather is dampened and then placed upon the bed-piece, and the upperpart is then brought down,which presses the leather into the central opening` and also into the outer opening extending around the central opening, and is held in this position by means of a screw passing through the hole A and resting upon the top piece until the leather is molded and formed so as to retain its shape. This pressure also has the effect of stretching the leather, so that the same has a finished appearance. It also forms a flange for stitching the pad to the nut-piece or upper part of the saddle where the terrets are placed.

This operation is very quickly performed, A

and pads made thereby have a nish and style much superior to the common mode, and it is applicable to all forms of harness-pads.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- The harness-pad former or mold, substantially and for the purposes described.

THOMAS H. GIRARD. Witnesses H. U. SoPER, W. N. HEWITT. 

